From Dysfunction to Thriving: Reclaiming God’s Vision for Families

The Devil’s Target: Families Under Siege

Families are a reflection of God’s loving nature, providing intimacy, security, and an environment for godly character to flourish. But with such high ideals comes a sinister force seeking to destroy them. The Devil’s goal is not merely to mar families but to distort their representation of God’s character, alienate individuals from one another, and cultivate sinful behavior.

The Fall’s First Ramifications

It’s no coincidence that the first consequences of the fall were familial. Adam’s response to God’s confrontation about his sin in the garden was to shift the blame to his wife. What was once “bone of my bones” had become a bone of contention. This pattern continued as brotherly jealousy escalated into murder, transforming the idyllic family setting into a ground for death.

The Devil’s Devices

Today, the Devil employs various tactics to harm families, aiming far beyond mere dysfunction. His goal is to demean God’s high purposes for family, settling for a low standard of functionality. But shouldn’t we strive for more? Instead of merely healing dysfunctions, we should aim for families to be healthy, thriving, intimate, beautiful, strengthening, sanctifying, and genuinely good.

A New Perspective

Let’s abandon the terms “dysfunctional” and “functional” and instead speak of “healthy” or “unhealthy” families. By painting a better picture of what we want our families to be, we can subtly convey our high regard for them. We want more for our loved ones than to be mere cogs in gears; we want them to thrive as image-bearers around our dining room tables.

Practical Strategies for Change

Randy Newman offers holistic strategies for witnessing to family members and others close to us, based on biblical truth and sensitivity to the difficulty of the task. By implementing these strategies and shifting our perspective, we can begin to build stronger, healthier families that reflect God’s loving nature.

A Call to Action

Let’s declare a moratorium on settling for mediocrity in our families. Let’s strive for excellence, for beauty, for intimacy, and for goodness. As we do, we’ll find that our families become beacons of hope, reflecting the very nature of God’s love to a world in need.

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